Women protest planned demolitions in Mpape

A number of protesters on Monday stormed the Federal Secretariat in Abuja to protest plans by the FCT administration to demolish their houses in Mpape, a satellite town in the FCT.

The protesters mostly women accused the FCT administration of planning to make them homeless.

The women tried to take their protest to the National Assembly but were barred from getting there.

They however gathered at the secretariat not minding the blistering sun to protest the danger they stand of losing their homes.

Mpape is a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory and officials of the Federal Capital Development Control on Sunday marked their houses for demolition.

Defying security agents who stopped the protesters from reaching the National Assembly, the women stood their ground and tried to get the attention of any and every one.

Channels Television took a trip to Mpape and confirmed that many houses in the area are already marked for demolition.

But the Director Development Control, Yahaya Yusuf explained to Channels Television that the houses marked for demolition, are illegal structures.

He also said previous attempts to relocate people whose houses were demolished have not been successful.

The protesters said the Federal Capital Territory Development Agency (FCDA) has given them a 21 day notice to move out of their houses.

This is not the first time the FCT authorities have embarked on massive demolition exercises in the nation’s capital.

The FCT authorities have however being criticised for not doing anything with the land after the bulldozers leave, leaving the land bare.